The Next Doctor?

If there’s one issue being discussed among Doctor Who fans right now, it’s the remarkable content of the book Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale, a series of correspondence between Russell T Davies and DWM‘s Benjamin Cook.

Published on Thursday September 25th, Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale has been previewed in The Times as you may have seen already. This preview some very interesting information indeed, particularly about this Christmas’ Doctor Who. Remember – this is all public domain stuff now, so read on only if you dare to learn the true nature of Cybershades and the identity of David Morrissey’s character, as revealed in one of RTD’s emails!

Cybermen, Victoriana, a swordfight on the roof with Cybershades (Cyberman heads in flowing black robes, like wraiths, sort of creepy half-Cybermen), workhouse kids as slaves… That’s all the normal plot stuff. The real heart of it is the beginning: the Doctor arrives, hears a damsel in distress, the Doctor steps forward to save her… when this other man [to be played by David Morrissey] swings in, dashing, brilliant, amazing, clever, witty, saves the day. The Doctor says, “Who are you?” The man says, “I’m the Doctor!”

Could it be true? Two instances of future continuity within the space of 4 consecutive stories (remember River Song!)?

Or could it be something else – perhaps an instance of the BBC borrowing from Big Finish (The One Doctor featured a fake Doctor, played by Christopher Biggins opposite Colin Baker)?

Whatever the future holds, get ready for lots of alternative Doctors, both real and rumoured, between now and 2010…

A long-term Doctor Who fan, Christian grew up watching the show and has early memories of the Graham Williams era. His favourite stories are Inferno, The Seeds of Doom and Human Nature (although The Empty Child, Blink and Utopia all come close). When he’s not bossing around the news team, Christian is a freelance writer specialising in mobile technology and domestic computing, and enjoys classic rock, cooking and spending time in the countryside with his wife and young children. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.